http://www.examiner.com/x-3315-Word-Geek-Examiner?cid=exrss-Word-Geek-Examiner en-us Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:17:43 -0700 Sun, 01 Nov 2009 18:38:22 -0700 BlogCFC http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://www.examiner.com/x-3315-Word-Geek-Examiner~y2009m11d1-Was-the-Sphinx-once-a-lion?cid=exrss-Word-Geek-Examiner The consensus among Egyptologists is that the pharaoh Khephren had the famous Sphinx built during the days of the Old Kingdom, and it always had this pharaoh’s head on the body of the lion.  Long ago it had a beard and a nose, but it ha... historical linguistics Sun, 01 Nov 2009 18:38:22 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-3315-Word-Geek-Examiner~y2009m11d1-Was-the-Sphinx-once-a-lion?cid=exrss-Word-Geek-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-3315-Word-Geek-Examiner~y2009m10d22-Review-of-Stylized-for-Strunk-and-Whites-Elements-of-Style-on-their-silver-anniversary?cid=exrss-Word-Geek-Examiner Back in 1959, half a century ago, a slim volume came out of the press of Macmillan, called The Elements of Style. Most of it had circulated earlier as a set of rules for writing English papers, written up by Professor William Strunk, who, as you m... word usage slang language expression stylistics Thu, 22 Oct 2009 08:53:20 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-3315-Word-Geek-Examiner~y2009m10d22-Review-of-Stylized-for-Strunk-and-Whites-Elements-of-Style-on-their-silver-anniversary?cid=exrss-Word-Geek-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-3315-Word-Geek-Examiner~y2009m10d13-Finds-in-the-Valley-of-the-Kings?cid=exrss-Word-Geek-Examiner On a recent archeology blog (Archaeorama), Dr. Zahi Hawass, Egypt’s premier archeologist discusses a few finds in the Valley of the Kings. One of these is a limestone slab bearing an inscription showing a small bird rather like a sparrow, benea... definition dictionary language expression historical linguistics scripts Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:11:15 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-3315-Word-Geek-Examiner~y2009m10d13-Finds-in-the-Valley-of-the-Kings?cid=exrss-Word-Geek-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-3315-Word-Geek-Examiner~y2009m10d4-The-origin-of-Halloween?cid=exrss-Word-Geek-Examiner In archaic English, the name for the Christian holiday of November 1st was All Hallows Day or All Hallow Mass. It meant the same thing as the modern All Saints’ Day. For those who don’t know, in some denominations, such as the Catholic an... word usage definition dictionary slang expression historical linguistics dialect Sun, 04 Oct 2009 16:08:17 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-3315-Word-Geek-Examiner~y2009m10d4-The-origin-of-Halloween?cid=exrss-Word-Geek-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-3315-Word-Geek-Examiner~y2009m9d27-Was-Biblical-Joseph-bought-with-coins?cid=exrss-Word-Geek-Examiner According to an article in the Middle East Media Research Institute, following a report in the Egyptian daily, Al-Ahram, some Egyptian archeologists supposedly found some coins dating to the time of the Biblical Joseph.  No, really!  Not on... historical linguistics Sun, 27 Sep 2009 19:16:32 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-3315-Word-Geek-Examiner~y2009m9d27-Was-Biblical-Joseph-bought-with-coins?cid=exrss-Word-Geek-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-3315-Word-Geek-Examiner~y2009m9d18-What-is-a-Goth?cid=exrss-Word-Geek-Examiner Gothenburg is a city in Sweden and an internet service provider in that city has decided to call itself GothNet. This choice of a name has caused a few giggles among those Swedes who know a bit of idiomatic English, as seen on the Aardvarchaeolo... word usage definition dictionary historical linguistics Fri, 18 Sep 2009 09:04:50 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-3315-Word-Geek-Examiner~y2009m9d18-What-is-a-Goth?cid=exrss-Word-Geek-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-3315-Word-Geek-Examiner~y2009m9d12-Education-101-What-is-Ramadan?cid=exrss-Word-Geek-Examiner Among Muslims in the United States (and many other countries), there are two calendars, the secular one and the religious one. The secular calendar is the same one that everybody else follows, with the months and years that we all know. But the relig... definition expression Sat, 12 Sep 2009 18:31:15 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-3315-Word-Geek-Examiner~y2009m9d12-Education-101-What-is-Ramadan?cid=exrss-Word-Geek-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-3315-Word-Geek-Examiner~y2009m9d10-September-and-the-fall-of-apples?cid=exrss-Word-Geek-Examiner  Autumn is coming and with it, a new crop of apples. Readers who are interested in learning about the differences among types of apples can read about them at the wiseGEEK blog, “What Are the Different Types of Apples?” http://www.wi... word usage definition dictionary language expression historical linguistics Thu, 10 Sep 2009 12:47:45 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-3315-Word-Geek-Examiner~y2009m9d10-September-and-the-fall-of-apples?cid=exrss-Word-Geek-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-3315-Word-Geek-Examiner~y2009m9d7-A-mysterious-old-inscription?cid=exrss-Word-Geek-Examiner This particular mystery comes from an old graveyard (and notice that, in the latest writing style, this paragraph has only one sentence, formerly a big "no-no").On Ancestry.com there is a picture of a gravestone with an inscription tha... dictionary spelling historical linguistics scripts Mon, 07 Sep 2009 10:17:41 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-3315-Word-Geek-Examiner~y2009m9d7-A-mysterious-old-inscription?cid=exrss-Word-Geek-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-3315-Word-Geek-Examiner~y2009m9d5-A-proposal-for-Labor-Day?cid=exrss-Word-Geek-Examiner What’s the point of Labor Day? Have you ever wondered? It’s supposed to celebrate the great American worker, the one whose labor creates most of the wealth of this nation, the one who builds all the roads, who puts up the houses we live i... definition Sat, 05 Sep 2009 13:38:01 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-3315-Word-Geek-Examiner~y2009m9d5-A-proposal-for-Labor-Day?cid=exrss-Word-Geek-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-3315-Word-Geek-Examiner~y2009m8d31-Peace-on-earth-good-will-toPunch?cid=exrss-Word-Geek-Examiner In an old volume of bound magazines from 1864, there is an odd poem, entitled “Not a Bad Idea of King William.” The magazine is Punch, published in Great Britain, the date January 30 of 1864, with no author given:Says the King to the Kais... word usage definition dictionary expression historical linguistics Mon, 31 Aug 2009 14:32:27 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-3315-Word-Geek-Examiner~y2009m8d31-Peace-on-earth-good-will-toPunch?cid=exrss-Word-Geek-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-3315-Word-Geek-Examiner~y2009m8d29-The-origin-of-language?cid=exrss-Word-Geek-Examiner Most proud parents notice when their babies say their first word. A certain little girl, of whom the Word Geek is very fond, said her first word at the rather precocious age of nine months. The Word Geek had been using this particular word to address... language historical linguistics Sat, 29 Aug 2009 11:11:48 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-3315-Word-Geek-Examiner~y2009m8d29-The-origin-of-language?cid=exrss-Word-Geek-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-3315-Word-Geek-Examiner~y2009m8d28-Postcards-from-ancient-times-Egyptian-alphabet-and-Hittite-hieroglyphs?cid=exrss-Word-Geek-Examiner Your friendly, neighborhood Word Geek has recently come across some postcards from ancient times and will now share them with her readers. These cards date from about twenty-five years ago, so no copyrights should be infringed by my sharing them with... historical linguistics scripts Fri, 28 Aug 2009 16:46:55 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-3315-Word-Geek-Examiner~y2009m8d28-Postcards-from-ancient-times-Egyptian-alphabet-and-Hittite-hieroglyphs?cid=exrss-Word-Geek-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-3315-Word-Geek-Examiner~y2009m8d28-Spelling-errors-and-souvenirs-from-overseas?cid=exrss-Word-Geek-Examiner After feuding unsuccessfully with the computer over whether or not it would accept some scanned postcards, I’ve decided that the answer is “no.” So we're back to the old fashioned photos with bad lighting and off-kilter settings, I&... dictionary scripts Fri, 28 Aug 2009 16:42:09 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-3315-Word-Geek-Examiner~y2009m8d28-Spelling-errors-and-souvenirs-from-overseas?cid=exrss-Word-Geek-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-3315-Word-Geek-Examiner~y2009m6d30-Getting-ready-to-read?cid=exrss-Word-Geek-Examiner Are you or is someone you know getting ready to go back to school? If so, that will probably mean getting ready to read. Many people in this country cannot read or don’t do so even if they know how. The Word Geek has known plenty of folks who t... definition summer reading English as a second language back to school Mon, 24 Aug 2009 07:15:31 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-3315-Word-Geek-Examiner~y2009m8d24-Getting-ready-to-read?cid=exrss-Word-Geek-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-3315-Word-Geek-Examiner~y2009m8d20-Segesser-hide-paintings-pictures-worth-thousands-of-words?cid=exrss-Word-Geek-Examiner Several of my columns have focused on ancient scripts. This one is going to focus on something that is definitely not early writing, but purely pictorial. But, as the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words! In this case at least, truer word... summer learning scripts Thu, 20 Aug 2009 11:35:11 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-3315-Word-Geek-Examiner~y2009m8d20-Segesser-hide-paintings-pictures-worth-thousands-of-words?cid=exrss-Word-Geek-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-3315-Word-Geek-Examiner~y2009m8d20-Bilingualism-and-the-elephant?cid=exrss-Word-Geek-Examiner According to an article in ScienceDaily, bilingual people are unable to turn off one of the two languages that they know, even when they don’t need it (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090818130435.htm). This article is reporting on... language bilingual Thu, 20 Aug 2009 11:34:28 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-3315-Word-Geek-Examiner~y2009m8d20-Bilingualism-and-the-elephant?cid=exrss-Word-Geek-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-3315-Word-Geek-Examiner~y2009m8d18-How-to-write-your-name-in-Meroitic-hieroglyphs?cid=exrss-Word-Geek-Examiner One of the latest books the Word Geek purchased tells about the land south of ancient Egypt, a place with many names. Sometimes it was called Kush (also sometimes spelled Cush). Sometimes it was known as Meroe. And at other times, it was called Nubia... spelling Black history historical linguistics scripts Tue, 18 Aug 2009 15:47:40 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-3315-Word-Geek-Examiner~y2009m8d18-How-to-write-your-name-in-Meroitic-hieroglyphs?cid=exrss-Word-Geek-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-3315-Word-Geek-Examiner~y2009m8d18-Please-and-thank-you-in-over-20-languages?cid=exrss-Word-Geek-Examiner Today (August 18th) is supposed to be “Bad Poetry Day.” The worst poetry the Word Geek knows was written in response to something that the linguist Noam Chomsky said, which was that a certain sentence was nonsensical and wouldn’t oc... expression back to school Tue, 18 Aug 2009 10:56:42 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-3315-Word-Geek-Examiner~y2009m8d18-Please-and-thank-you-in-over-20-languages?cid=exrss-Word-Geek-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-3315-Word-Geek-Examiner~y2009m8d14-Can-an-ape-make-a-musical-instrument?cid=exrss-Word-Geek-Examiner On MSNBC, an article claims that orangutans have invented a simple musical instrument.   What is a musical instrument?  It is any tool or device which produces a musical sound.  What the apes are doing isn’t musical at all, ... definition Fri, 14 Aug 2009 05:26:13 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-3315-Word-Geek-Examiner~y2009m8d14-Can-an-ape-make-a-musical-instrument?cid=exrss-Word-Geek-Examiner